As we know, the Ganges is the holy river in the world. The river is considered holy in India and was formally named the national river in 2008. It is known as the Ganga in Indian languages though it is also called the Ganges River. It is a sacred entity Known as Ganga Ma—Mother Ganges—the river is worshipped as a goddess whose purity cleanses the sins of the faithful and aids the dead on their path toward heaven. But while her spiritual purity has remained unchallenged for millennia, her physical purity has worsened as India’s growing population imposes an ever-growing burden upon her. The river is now sick with the pollution of human and industrial waste, and water-borne illness is a terrible factor in Indian life. But the threat posed by this pollution isn’t just a matter of health—it’s a matter of faith.
The reason for the pollution of the river Ganga or any other sacred river is that people have forgotten what “sacred” means, how a place becomes sacred and how the sacredness of a place is to be maintained by those visiting it.
- Advertisement -
Ganga, it appears, is now a place for a commercial ritual activity or simply a dumping ground for bodily waste matter, much like most places on Earth that were considered sacred.
Every day from day to night we depend on the river Ganga, as Ganga is polluted by some reasons like- People taking baths with soaps and other harmful chemicals. Most of the factories have been built just on the shore of the Ganges. Hot and even polluted water (not water(not filtered) are drained into the river Ganga. Fishing is another problem. 35% of total fingerlings are harvested from Ganga itself. This overfishing leaves a negative impact on the Ganges climate as well.
Sometimes, to maintain tradition and ritual dead bodies are drained into the Ganga advocating water quality degradation.
- Advertisement -
Ferries to carry passengers also leave a severe impact on the Ganges.
Dams and barrages are also playing an evil role in fueling up this pollution.
The main causes of pollution in the Ganga river are the disposal of human sewage and animal waste, increasing population density, and disposal of industrial waste into the river.
- Advertisement -
The river Ganga is altered and polluted biologically, chemically, and physically. The government of India has also taken various initiatives to clean the Ganga river like the Ganga action plan, 1985. The Ganga action plan was a failure irrespective of the fact that it was the largest single initiative, to clean the polluted river. Plan 1985 to the clean Ganga project 2014, taken to clean the Ganga river but all seems to be failure based on the fact that the river is the 1st in a most polluted river in 2016 and was ranked 5th in 2007. The reason for failure in perseverance Ganga could be corruption, poor environmental planning, lack of support from various authorities, lack of proper equipment or technical expertise.
It will affect the quality and quantity of the Ganga river.After all, humans are responsible for the distressful condition of the Ganges.
